Lincolnshire hockey stars going for gold in Olympic final tonight

People across Lincolnshire are firmly crossing fingers for the county’s field hockey quartet, whose GB team face the Netherlands tonight in the women’s Olympic final.

It’s all to play for in the gold medal match, which airs in the UK from the Rio Olympic Hockey Centre at 9pm on Friday, August 19 on BBC One.

The team have done exceptionally well in the games so far, guaranteeing themselves a silver medal and improving on the bronze they won in 2012 when they beat New Zealand 3-0 in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

Lincolnshire’s own Georgie Twigg, Hannah Macleod, Crista Cullen and Shona McCallin have been in the thick of the action throughout the tournament, but will face their hardest challenge against the Dutch.

Netherlands are going for their third straight Olympic gold after beating Germany on penalties in their semi-final. They’re ranked number one in the world, but there’s every bit of belief that our girls could come home with the gold.

Crista, who came out of retirement in 2015, told BBC Sport: “To fight for an Olympic medal is what gets us up every morning, let alone to be in a gold medal match. We are hugely proud of where we have got.”